Saving Shiloh

Paralyzed with shock and fear, Marty does not move as he watches the scene in horror. One of the neighbors cries out that Judd has killed his dog, and Marty runs over to the dog, checking for a pulse, but there is none: The dog is dead. Marty looks to Judd, who is sitting on the ground and cradling his head in his arms, his leg still bleeding profusely. Marty tells Judd to stay still, and he runs inside to call Doc Murphy, telling him that one of Judd’s dogs has attacked him.

Marty tells the neighbors that Doc Murphy is on his way, and he sits next to Judd, who shakes his head in despair. Judd mumbles to himself that the dog was his best hunter and that he has now lost two dogs, counting Shiloh. Judd tells Marty that he never meant to step on the dog’s paw, and Marty assures him that he understands that it was an accident.

Doc Murphy arrives and whistles when he sees the state of Judd’s leg. He asks Judd whether he provoked the dog at all, and Marty interjects, stating that it was an accident. Doc helps Judd inside, stating that the wound will need many stitches, and Marty secures the opening in the fence before going back inside. Marty sees Judd’s other dogs approach their dead pack mate, whining in sorrow.

Doc bandages Judd’s leg and gives him antibiotics, telling him that he will check on him in a few days. He also tells Judd that he needs to take the dog with him to check for rabies. Judd asks the doctor if he can return the dog’s body. Marty helps get the dog into Doc’s car, and when he goes back inside, he asks Judd if he wants him to stay. Judd declines, and Marty apologizes for how the day turned out before leaving.

Marty tells the story of the attack back at home, and his parents express sympathy for Judd’s predicament, stating that “[s]ome people just seem to attract trouble” (108). While waiting for the bus the next day, Marty tells Dara Lynn not to share what happened with anyone else, but as soon as she boards the bus, she tells the other children that Judd killed something. Everyone already knows, with the rumors and embellishments already spreading. Marty jumps to Judd’s defense, stating that it was an accident, but no one listens.

Marty worries about Judd in the wake of the accident, although he learns that his wound is healing well. Judd will no longer look at Marty when he passes him on the road, and when Marty returns to Judd’s house to help finish the gate, Judd does not respond even though his truck is in the driveway. Marty goes around back to check if Judd is there and sees a mound of dirt at the edge of Judd’s property, a grave marked with the dog’s collar.

Judd continues to ignore Marty, and he feels like he is “back where [they] started” in their uneasy relationship (111). Dad implores Marty to give Judd time to sort through his feelings. Spring continues, and a deluge of rain causes an overflow in Middle Island Creek, flooding the low-lying roads around Marty’s home.

At the vet’s office one Saturday, someone brings in a litter of kittens. Marty helps care for the kittens and, to his own surprise, tells Doc Collins that he would like to keep one of the kittens for his sister, Dara Lynn. Collins agrees and tells Marty that he can take them after eight weeks, just in time for Dara Lynn’s birthday.

At the end of March, David comes for another sleepover, and he and Marty notice that the continued rain is close to overcoming the Shiloh bridge. At dinner, Dara Lynn antagonizes both David and Marty, and he regrets reserving a kitten for her. Ma snaps at Dara Lynn and then apologizes to David, explaining that she has an increasingly painful toothache. Ma goes to lie down, and the children play Monopoly in the living room, but Shiloh gets too excited and knocks over the board. Dara Lynn yells at Shiloh, hitting him, and Marty screams at her to never touch his dog again. Dara Lynn ends the game, taking Becky back to their room to play.

It’s raining, but David and Marty make their way back to the Shiloh schoolhouse to see if they can find any more stolen items. When they return home, Ma tells Marty that she was able to get an emergency appointment with the dentist and that she is going to hitch a ride with a neighbor to town. A neighbor, Mrs. Ellison, has agreed to come watch them, but Marty insists that they do not need a babysitter.

Fifteen minutes go by, and Mrs. Ellison still has not arrived when the phone rings. Marty answers, and it is Mrs. Ellison, explaining that the rising water is preventing her from making it up the hill to Marty’s house. She says that she will come once her husband gets home, as he has a four-by-four vehicle. Marty assures her that everything is fine. The phone rings again almost as soon as Marty hangs up, and it is a classmate, Michael Sholt, who tells Marty and David that he has just seen a dead body floating down the creek, rapidly approaching Marty’s house.

Marty and David rush outside to try and see the body floating down the creek. They reach the bridge and look upstream, noting the raging waters of the creek. As Marty and David watch, Marty wonders who it could be, and Marty worries that it might be Judd. After five minutes, the boys wonder whether Michael was playing a prank on them, but suddenly, David yells out that he sees something. Coming around the bend in the creek is a figure the size of a man. The boys run to the far side of the bridge, but once the figure is right below them, they discover that it is not a dead body but a leftover scarecrow from Halloween. Shiloh rushes over to the other side of the creek, barking at the scarecrow.

Dara Lynn and Becky arrive, and Marty tells them to go back to the house. Dara Lynn refuses, even after Marty tells her that they are all going back home. Dara Lynn walks along the bridge, crying out to everyone, “Look at me!” (118), as she pushes her head through the slats of the bridge. Marty tries to drag her by the arm just as the Ellisons arrive at their driveway. Marty looks away for a moment, and when he looks back, Dara Lynn has climbed on top of the bridge. She loses her balance and falls into the water, disappearing under the bridge.

Becky runs screaming back toward the house, where the Ellisons hear her and come rushing over. David also begins to scream and runs over to the other side of the bridge to see if he can spot Dara Lynn. Marty yells out to Mr. Ellison that Dara Lynn has fallen into the creek. Terrified that his sister will drown, Marty rushes back to the bridge, squatting down to see that Dara Lynn has been snagged on some small branches underneath the bridge support. She holds on, screaming for help, and Mr. Ellison joins Marty, yelling out instructions to Dara Lynn. She slowly makes her way to the bank and to safety. As Marty’s panic begins to abate, he sees Shiloh out in the water, having jumped in to save Dara Lynn and now being carried away by the strength of the current.

Marty screams in anguish as he watches Shiloh struggle to swim against the current. Marty sees Judd’s truck coming up the road, and he slows down, asking Marty what is wrong. Marty points to the creek, crying that Shiloh is in the water. Without hesitation, Judd gets out of his truck and makes his way down to the water, carrying a rope from the bed of his truck. He ties one end of the rope to a tree and the other around his waist before wading into the water. Judd gets closer to Shiloh, but Marty sees that Shiloh tries to swim in the opposite direction of Judd, still scared of his former owner. Marty calls out to Shiloh, telling him to go to Judd, and just as it seems like the river will sweep Shiloh away, Judd lets out a distinctive whistle, the one he used to use to order Shiloh to come.

Judd assures Shiloh that he is not going to hurt him, and finally, Shiloh lands securely in Judd’s arms. Judd makes his way to the bank, and Marty hugs Shiloh to his chest, using his other arm to hug Judd, thanking him. Judd hugs Marty back, albeit awkwardly, but Marty can sense that it is a start. The community responds enthusiastically to Judd’s heroism. The newspaper reports on the story, and Judd recounts what happened, saying that he was fearful during the rescue but that “[he] was more scared of not saving Shiloh, on account of that dog once saved [him]” (126). The story results in someone asking Judd to join the rescue squad in a nearby town, an offer that Judd agrees to consider.

The next night, Marty reveals to Dara Lynn that he is going to get her a kitten. She runs over to Marty, hugging him tightly. Marty notes that, like hugging Judd, it feels awkward but like a fresh start.

One afternoon, knowing that Judd is at work, Marty goes to Judd’s house to finish the fence gate. As Marty works, he wonders what it will be like to no longer have to worry about Judd hurting Shiloh or trying to get him back. He figures that it will be a good feeling. The gate is not easy to finish, but Marty finally gets it to swing.

He relatches the gate before leaving for home and thinks that someday in the future, Shiloh might join him in visiting Judd. Marty is not sure whether Shiloh will ever be able to forgive Judd completely, but he has seen “enough miracles” lately to think that it is possible (127).